How to Write Ad Copy to Skyrocket Your Sales

What Is Ad Copy?

Advertising copy is one of the advertising tools used in marketing strategy. It can be in written and visual forms that deliver the main message or idea to the prospective client. The aim of ad copy is to force the reader to take an action.

It is hard to force the person to spend money on a certain product or service. There will be no excuse if you will write advertising copy that is too long or too boring. You will lose the client as a result. To create an effective advertising copy you must know exactly how to write ad copy correctly so that it will work for the business and bring the maximum profit.

Why Do You Need It?

If you need to increase your sales and make your business more profitable, you can use advertising copy to promote your products or services. The aim of advertising copy is to attract attention, raise interest, induce desire, and persuade to take action.

Ad copy can increase the percentage of conversion rates. As a rule, the conversion rate is the percentage of visitors that have committed the targeted action on your website. This can be a purchase, a registration, a call, a subscription, etc.

Ad Copy Peculiarities

Can advertising copy sell any product? Is there any universal recipe for creating a successful advertising copy? How does advertising copy differ from other texts?

The success of advertising copy lies in preliminary analysis. To be able to claim that your product or service is the best, you need to know every single detail about it. You can find this information in reliable sources, comparing your products with competitors; watch the manufacturing process and learn all peculiarities connected with it.

Also, consider the fact that today’s world is saturated with various advertisements and a person’s mind can be closed to other advertisements. If you haven’t caught the reader’s attention from the very beginning, all your other efforts will be spent in vain. Every single word of the advertising copy should evoke interest and credibility. If after reading several sentences readers can’t find useful information, they will leave your text. In the following steps you will find out how to write advertising copy that sells.

Steps: How to Write Good Ad Copy

There is no single structure for advertising copy, as it depends on the product/service, industry, placement, and writer’s intent. In the following steps you will learn about the key elements that you need to consider while writing your first ad copy.

Step 1. Find out the goal of your advertising copy.

You need to know the results you want to receive with this ad copy. What will the reader feel after reading your text? What will interest them the most?

Answer the following questions that will give you the basis for your future advertising copy:

Who is our target audience? Advertising messages can be addressed to either a whole group of people, or an individual. The more accurately you know your reader, the more precisely the appeal should be chosen. What do they have in common? Also, you should define what amount of money they will be ready to spend.

What communication style is more common for your target audience? To be able to appeal to the feelings and thoughts of your audience, you need to know what words to use in your message.

Where will the text be published? If you are writing a short advertisement for a search engine, your text will be the quintessence of selling information; for an advertising post, you will have more space for thoughts.

What is the main theme/idea of the text?

What benefits can your product bring to the reader?

It is necessary not only to answer questions, but also to make sure the answers fit your target audience. Foresee the objections that your prospective readers may have:

Too cheap/too pricey.

Fear of buying such products online.

It’s not obvious that the product has good quality.

Your prospective client can doubt many things. What can prevent the reader from buying the product? How can you turn your weakness into a strength? A successful advertising copy answers all possible objections.

Step 2. Analyze your competitor’s activity.

There is no need to hire a spy that will find secret information from your competitors. It is enough to learn their websites and social networks. You need this step to make sure that your future advertising copy will be different from those that are already on the internet. Consider the following points:

How do the landing page, website design, and texts look?

Do you want to buy their product?

What kind of promotions do they use?

This information will help you create a unique text that will be bright among the competitors.

Step 3. Find keywords.

What keywords should be in the text? Use the Google Keyword Planner or other sources to find the most appropriate keywords for your text. You need to know this in advance, as the right keywords will show the relevance of your ad copy to readers. For example, if you have chosen the keyword “smartwatch,” your headline may look like this: “Buy Smartwatch.”

Step 4. Write an eye-catching headline.

To write a good headline, you need to know what your target audience is seeking.

Use contrast to highlight the headline with the bigger font size to focus the reader’s attention on it.
Use sub-headings is you can’t explain the purpose of your product in the headline. Show the reader that you can solve their problem.

Step 5. Choose an illustration.

Illustration also plays an important role in attracting attention. As humans tend to be attracted more with visuals, you need to pay attention to this element. The ideal illustration works like a magnet: readers are attracted with the image, then they read the headline and then everything else.

If it will be applicable, use a photo or image. Make sure that it corresponds with your marketing strategy and clearly sends the same message as your text and heading. A perfectly chosen image can significantly increase the effect of your message.

Step 6. Create a unique proposal.

Forget that you are the best manufacturer of these great products. Your audience will be interested in your product only when it’s useful for them. That’s why you need to make a list of obvious and underlying benefits for your audience. What makes your product so special? Why should the reader click on the advertising of your product?

Write about benefits. What will the customer receive from your product? Use words like “you will learn,” “you will get,” etc. For example: “You will increase your productivity by using this app.”

Don’t forget to mention your prices and promotions. People that are seeking certain products or services are more likely to be attracted with ads that talk about time-limited discounts and special offers.

Use social proof to make your ad sound more credible, such as statistical information: “More than eight million people already use smartwatches. Get your own with a 20% discount right now.”

Step 7. Write a call-to-action.

At the end of your proposal, write a call-to-action phrase: “Sign up Online,” “Order Now,” etc. The call-to-action will depend on your product and audience. Usually this is the button that the reader should click to go to your website, buy, download, or register. With the call-to-action you will help the reader choose what to do next. Encourage people to click on the button with phrases that add a bit of urgency: “Order Now to Get a Discount” or “Offer Ends Soon.”

Sample of Advertising Copy

In the following example you can read how the author has used all the steps from above and created an advertising copy. With the best ad copy examples you will learn how to create relevant and consistent advertising text that will influence your target audience.

Advertising Copy Writing Tips

Carefully use surprises and intrigues. These methods are commonly used in advertising, when a potential client is manipulated with their interest.

The text of an advertising copy should provide a visual association with what you are writing about. If your readers will be able to imagine how they use your product, this will mean that you have successfully written your copy.

Start your text with a catchy phrase, story, citation, anecdote, etc. This will force the reader to put all things aside and read your copy.

Stick to a certain format. If you will be writing an advertising copy for search engines, you will need to read the requirements for word count for the headline, URL, and text of the ad.

Be in trend. Keep up with the latest news, scientific research, and the most popular posts in social networks. Considering the current situation on the market, you will be able to meet the audience’s needs and expectations.

Advertising Copy Writing Mistakes

Don’t make bold assertions. This applies to claims like the following: “Our printers are the best on the market. It is the most recent achievement in the industry.” To make these sorts of claims you need to investigate the market of printers. Your reader can doubt your research and your knowledge about printers.

Don’t use long sentences. Use only short sentences for your messages. It will be easier to read and understand the main idea.

Don’t make conclusions for the reader. Expressions such as, “we are sure this product will be your best purchase ever,” sound like an overconfident conclusion. Your clients should decide on their own whether to buy your product or not.

Don’t change the style. Your text should be written in one style.

Don’t use clichéd phrases. There is no need to create advertising texts about “the best” products with “the lowest” prices. This is a cheap and overused method.

Don’ try to impress the reader with complex words and abbreviations. A good advertising text is written with simple words that can be connected with complex thoughts and associations. Don’t try to make abbreviations to meet the word count.

Avoid excessive negatives. Negativity shouldn’t be the basis of your text, if only you need to identify a particular problem. Advertising text should be positive material.

Word Magnets for Advertising Copy

Did you know that even a single word can change the effect of an entire text? The reader clicks on your advertisement because all words create a certain emotion. The right words can convey the right information to the consumer. With the help of words and phrases you will catch the reader’s attention and win the client’s trust. Pick out one or several words and use them in your headline, call-to-action, or opening sentence to increase the power of your message.

– Sale/Final Clearance/Price break. Create urgency and a sense of missing something.
– Discount/Bonus/Off. Word magnets that directly show the benefit of buying your product or service.
– Free. This word still works, so don’t underestimate the power of this word.
– New. This word works the same as “free” and catches the reader’s attention.
– Save. This is the best word to show time or cost saving benefits.
– Exclusive. Imply that you are offering something special and unique.
– Proven/Tested/Guaranteed/Safe. These words provoke strong feelings and create an atmosphere of truthfulness and confidence.
– Now. This motivates the reader to take attention immediately.
– Solution/Benefit. This wordage puts emphasis on the usefulness of your products and services.

Advertising copy is a powerful tool that can boost your business. Knowing all the pieces that create a single picture will maximize your chances to create a powerful advertisement. A perfect advertising copy should be short, visual, and relevant for the specific audience. If you will follow all the advice on how to prepare advertisement copy from above, you will have a chance to be ahead of your competitors and improve your sales rates. Our team at AnswerShark hopes that this information will help you write the best advertising copy ever. Good luck!